Untraceable Paths: Wiped Out

Early Easter morning, four and a half years ago, life for our family changed forever. I awoke to the sound of an otherworldly noise and Tina’s body convulsing uncontrollably. That event began us onto a path where we would discover that Tina was suffering from late onset Epilepsy. That path would include long periods of Tina being home-bound and a non-stop roller-coaster of trying to figure out which medications would strike the best balance between controlling her seizures but also limit the debilitating side-effects of chronic fatigue and loss of focus – that effort has only been marginally successful.

On July 14th 2010, our path took another turn when Tina underwent a five week long surgical procedure where doctors at University Hospitals in Cleveland Ohio implanted multiple electrodes into her brain in the hope that this would allow them to locate the spot in her brain that is responsible for her seizures and then surgically remove that spot in an attempt to control her seizures without medication. Unfortunately after 3 surgical attempts to locating this seizure focus, the clock ran out and the risk of continuing this procedure became too great, so they removed all of the electrodes, and sent her home with very little to show for our 5 weeks in the hospital.

When we left Cleveland two summers ago we couldn't imagine that we would go back anytime soon. Those five weeks in the hospital were very disappointing for Tina and difficult for our kids. However, over the course of the last year and a half, Tina's seizures have become progressively more frequent, and medications have become progressively less effective at controlling her seizures. So, after consulting with Tina's neurologists, it is clear that we are in for yet another turn in the path of life.

We will once again be making the trip to University Hospitals in Cleveland, and on Wednesday January 11th, Tina will once again undergo the same procedure to implant electrodes in her brain to monitor seizure activity in the hope that they can determine the physical location of her seizures and surgically remove it.

This is not a path that we went looking for nor did we anticipate how sharply our lives would change literally over night when four and a half years ago these seizures began. There have been days when we have wondered as to why these things were happening and what God was up to in this. What we have learned is best summed up by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Rome where he said that the paths that God lays out for us are "beyond tracing out." We may not understand this path or where it’s leading us, but what we do know is that we would rather follow God’s untraceable path than to follow any path we could lay out for ourselves. This blog is our attempt to bring others along with us as we walk along God’s untraceable path.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Wiped Out

It has been a long day and Tina and I are both pretty wiped out. The day started at 4:00am with a pre-surgical scrub down and this after a very short night with many interruptions. It's amazing that they keep you up later and interrupt your sleep more often the night before surgery than the other nights.

She came back to the room feeling like she was in more pain than after the previous two surgeries but they've been able to manage her pain pretty well since then. She's currently got some morphine going and so she's feeling pretty relaxed. They will give her another dose of anti-seizure meds tonight and then she'll be off from them for the rest of the time here.

I'm going to be heading to bed here shortly and hopefully get get some much needed sleep. I did laundry for 3 hours this afternoon and that just took it right out of me.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...: I have been praying for you guys everyday. Tina is a very courageous lady and I am sure she appreciates how supportive you are...Keep staying positive! Mandy (Surdam) Green; July 27, 2010 at 2:02 AM
Anonymous said...: We're sure that you are exhausted, Matt. A body can only do so much. We are praying for strength for both of you. Both of you have been rocks during this whole thing. How we love you!!!!; July 27, 2010 at 7:37 AM
Anonymous said...: You guys are doing great Matt...God is going to hang on to you through it all...you're getting close!
Ruthie; July 27, 2010 at 8:58 AM
Unknown said...: Hi, Hope you both had a good nite. I know how it is with that laundry business, that's why I let you do your own. The kids are doing ok. Meg is off to camp, Lincoln stayed home. Too tired! Maybe tomorrow. I'm so proud of both of you. God is obviously doing good things. Love, Mom; July 27, 2010 at 10:01 AM
Kristin with Avon said...: Hi! I am a friend of Shelly's. Just wanted you to know I said a prayer for you. Years ago, here in my little town, a lady I met on the PTO had maybe the same surgery. It was a success. She got her license to drive again.
I pray you get the same results :); July 29, 2010 at 8:46 AM